While promoting Portman's new film, Vox Lux - which is about a teenager booming a pop star after a song she wrote honouring a tragedy goes viral - the 37-year-old actress took a stab at a 20 year old photo of Simpson.

"I remember being a teenager, and there was Jessica Simpson on the cover of a magazine saying 'I'm a virgin' while wearing a bikini, and I was confused.

"Like, I don't know what this is trying to tell me as a woman, as a girl."

Simpson also grew up in the public eye as a teen-pop sensation was "disappointed" and "confused" by the comments and posted a statement to Portman on social media.

"As public figures, we both know our image is not totally in our control at all times, and that the industry we work in often tries to define us and box us in.

"However, I was taught to be myself and honour the different ways all women express themselves, which is why I believed then - and I believe now - that being sexy in a bikini and being proud of my body are not synonymous with having sex."

It's pretty clear by Portman's image she is not one to intentionally insult anyone so soon after she found out Simpson was furious, the actress apologised to the singer.

Telling Entertainment Tonight her comments were more about mixed messages in the media than about shaming anyone.

"I would never intend to shame anybody and that was absolutely not my intention.

"I was really talking about mixed media messages out there for young women and completely apologise for any hurt it may have caused, because that was definitely not my intention.

"What I said was I was confused by mixed messages when I was a young girl growing up, and there are a lot of messages for how women should be, and women should be allowed to do whatever they want... It is a mistake to say anyone's name. I could have made my message without naming."

And when there's a celeb feud, there's a frenzy on Twitter:

If you ACTUALLY READ the Natalie Portman quote, she's clearly not criticizing Jessica Simpson for wearing a bikini so much as pointing out the confusing double standards of early 2000s pop stars, who were expected to present as both virginal and hypersexual.